Recent developments in technology and the expanding power of computers have made it possible for large numbers of people to have direct access to an increasingly large array of information and services. One task that is fundamental to most-technology-based systems is information search and retrieval. Although this topic has received attention within the human- computer interaction literature, the available data on older people is limited. The data which is available suggests that older people have more difficult than young people using technology to perform these types of tasks. The goals of this research project are to investigate the ability of older people to use technology to perform information search and retrieval tasks so that interface guidelines can be developed which accommodate this population. The project will investigate a range of information search and retrieval tasks that cut across living domains (e.g. home, work) and involve a variety of technologies. The initial study will focus on telephone-based voice menus and will investigate design parameters associate with these types of systems such as speech rate, prosodic stress, and menu structure. This study will also investigate the potential benefits of screen phones, which combine voice and text menus, for older people. The second set of studies will involve using the World Wide Web to search for information. Data will be gathered on age differences in search performance and navigational efficiency. Strategies for enhance performance such as improve user mental models of Web systems and modifications in interface design will be evaluated. The third set of studies will focus on database inquiry tasks which are information search tasks commonly performed in work settings. The goals of this study are to evaluate if extended practice can minimize age performance differences for these types of tasks, and toe examine if changes to the design of the interface have an impact on performance. Consistent with the other projects in the Center the studies will examine the relationships between cognitive abilities and task performance. The data generated from the research will be used as input to design guidelines.